Liberalism comes from the latin word libre which means 'free'. Libre is the origin for other words like liberal, liberty, libertarian, and libertine. It is also the inspiration for two of the most frequently used words in Indian social media these days : librandu and fiberal. Even though its popular use started in 17th century … Continue reading The Liberals of Hindustan
Tag: India
Kaveri connections
Since childhood I have a fascination for rivers. Both mine and my maternal uncle’s villages where I spent most part of my childhood were surrounded by rivers. I can write volumes about my adventures and playful activities associated with rivers. The story of the river is also the story of its people. All ancient civilisations … Continue reading Kaveri connections
The Idea of India
If I were asked to have only one post on the current AtoZ theme, mera gaon mera desh, I would have this one. It is a book review of ‘India: a sacred Geography’. The book was written by Diana L. Eck - an award winning professor of comparative religion and Indian Studies at Harvard University. … Continue reading The Idea of India
The Missing History of Hindustan
In my first article of this series I have mentioned about the tradition of Boita Bandana and Bali Jatra that commemorate the glorious maritime adventures of Odias in South East Asia. The businessmen who engaged in such maritime trade were known as sadhabas. There is a popular folk tale in Odisha about one of sadhaba … Continue reading The Missing History of Hindustan
mera gaon mera desh
Having missed the theme reveal post as I was late in waking up to the AtoZ challenge, I hope this post would compensate for that. In almost all Indian languages, a village is called a Gramam or any of its minor variations. Same way the word palli and its minor variations (like in Kannada it … Continue reading mera gaon mera desh
we can’t do away with English but …
I had the opportunity of listening to William Dalrymple when he had come to the Times Literature Festival, Bengaluru this year to promote his latest book - The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company. From his account it appears that, unlike the Mughals, the British did not have to struggle either to … Continue reading we can’t do away with English but …
sounds interesting
This week's Indispire prompt of Indiblogger is unique in the sense that usually you know a place is interesting or not after visiting it. You know whether food is tasty or not only after you have tasted it. But the prompt asks you to write about an interesting place you are yet to visit. An … Continue reading sounds interesting
A land linked by the footsteps of pilgrims
Post independence we can say our constitution defines the idea of India, apart from its physical boundries carved out through historical corrections and blunders. But the idea of India is an ancient one, as ancient as perhaps when efforts were taken to sanctify its mountains, rivers and all other important natural landmarks and link those … Continue reading A land linked by the footsteps of pilgrims
understanding nationalism
Yuval Noah Harai, in his book 21 lessons for the 21st Century, gives a beautiful perspective on Nationalism. He says that the nation is basically a story we tell ourselves. No doubt every nation has its geographical boundary. But without those stories, the collective feeling of belonging to a nation would not come. In order … Continue reading understanding nationalism
a meal to remember … and the journey
During High School days, I was an active member of the National Cadet Corps (Army Wing). When volunteers were asked for to attend the annual NCC camp of 1982 to be held at the HAL town of Sunabeda near Koraput, I was one of the first batch of students to register. Early one morning I … Continue reading a meal to remember … and the journey
PEBBLES AND WAVES 